The Bertha Justice Initiative facilitates a global network
of public interest law centers that unites for protection
and support of its lawyers.

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In a global context of increasing threats to
human rights defenders, and with disproportionate
levels of risk to women, one way that the Bertha
Justice Network has united in solidarity is for
the protection of its female members.

In late 2013, ProDESC's offices were broken
into, and in 2014, a smear campaign labelled
Alejandra “the devil's advocate.”

Many of Alejandra's friends and colleagues
have been murdered for their work.

These threats can be very gender-specific
when they are directed to women human
rights defenders. Often threats against
women defenders consist of using sexual
violence or threatening to do so. I believe
there is a clear difference between the
violence and intimidation exercised against
a woman defender and a male defender.”

Alejandra Ancheita, Founder and Executive Director
at The Project of Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights

ProDESC fights for the prioritization of
human rights in a severe climate
of impunity and violence.

The organization investigates crimes against
and advocates on behalf of migrants, workers,
women, and indigenous communities in Mexico.

Members of the Jury include:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

WORLD ORGANISATION AGAINST TORTURE

FRONT LINE DEFENDERS

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS

HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

DIAKONIE GERMANY

HURIDOCS

The leaders of the Bertha Justice Initiative
and the European Center for Constitutional
and Human Rights (ECCHR), with endorsement
from other members of the Bertha Justice Network,
nominated Alejandra for the Martin Ennals Award
for Human Rights Defenders, which shereceived in 2014.

The award is recognition of both the
importance of her work and the incredible
risks ProDESC faces.

Since receiving the award, Alejandra says
there has been a marked decrease in the
number of threats and surveillance she and
other ProDESC staff face.

Together, we discussed what we, as her
international colleagues, could do to support
her work and protect her: Alejandra has
suffered death threats and a concerted
campaign of vilification because of the work
she has been doing with ProDESC, a Bertha
Justice Initiative partner organization, with
migrants, workers, and indigenous communities in Mexico.”

Wolfgang Kaleck, Founder and Executive Director of ECCHR
on his decision to support the nomination of Alejandra for the award

She is also one of the
pioneers in seeking
accountability for
transnational companies
in Mexican courts when
local communities'
rights are not taken into account.”

Alejandra Ancheita, a human rights attorney from
Mexico, has been living with threats against her
life and her family's life in recent years. And while
the threats have been transformative, they have
also been empowering.”

The Bertha Justice Network's member
organizations unite for protection and
support of their lawyers - particularly
women, who face disproportionate threats
to their security.

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Letters ofnominationand support

As it did for Alejandra, the network submits joint
award nominations for lawyers at risk and issues
collective statements of solidarity.

Bertha Justice Fellows and lawyers at Bertha
Justice partner organizations have also
responded to unique gender-based challenges
faced by women human rights defenders by
organizing and initiating the
Women's Working Group.

The working group was initiated in 2014 and
serves as a forum for women human rights
defenders to share their gender related
struggles and strategies, as well as
their visions for the future.

The inaugural meeting of the Women's Working
Group was funded by an Educational Exchange
grant from Bertha and hosted by the European
Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

The Women's Working Group published a collection
of letters and poems that convey how women in
the network understand feminism, apply it in
their legal work, align it with their political
vision, and live it in their personal lives.

Coordinated by a Bertha Justice Fellow Alumna
at the Center for International Law in the
Philippines, and with funding from Bertha
Foundation, the Women's Working Group continues
to be a support mechanism for women in the
Bertha Justice Network.

It is too easy when working in the field of
human rights, dealing with cases of torture or
rape or with clients unjustly detained, to ignore
our own experience of discrimination as being
relatively unimportant.”

From: Unbowed – A collection of
letters and poems by women of
the Bertha Justice Initiative

It is ok to be different.

It is ok to be strong.

It is ok to be soft-spoken.

It is ok to be loud.

It is ok to be you.”

From: Unbowed – A collection of
letters and poems by women of
the Bertha Justice Initiative

You know as well as I that defending human
rights is not a job, but a choice of life. But how
to do it without sacrificing other aspects of our
lives: our families, our personal growth, our
health? This is not an easy exercise, we are
amongst many women who fail to find this
balance. We obtain legal victories and protect
others, but are unable to secure our own physical
and spiritual wellbeing.”

From: Unbowed – A collection of
letters and poems by women of
the Bertha Justice Initiative

You want me low.
I am high

You want me gone.
I am everywhere

You want me alone.
I am multiplying

You want me quiet.
I am telling the world

You want me scared.
I am looking for you ”

From: Unbowed – A collection of
letters and poems by women of
the Bertha Justice Initiative

Inasmuch as we work
together to bring
positive change in
society, it is never a bad
thing to examine
ourselves to see if
change needs to happen
within our ranks.
Inasmuch as we want to
change the world, we
ourselves must change.
We are all products of
the societies we grew up
in - as much as I am a
victim of the patriarchal
structure of our culture,
you are too.”

From: Unbowed – A collection of
letters and poems by women of
the Bertha Justice Initiative

The Women's Working Group continues to
be a support mechanism for women in the
Bertha Justice Network.

The Women's Working Group is coordinated by a
Bertha Justice Fellow alumna at the Center for
International Law in the Philippines, with funding
from Bertha Foundation.

The solidarity that came out of this initiative is
so genuine that it has not only empowered us
as professionals, but it has also inspired our
respective personal paths. This has been a
very cherished experience for me. I can only
hope that the group extends its reach to more
and more individuals.”

Claire Tixeire, Director of Education Program
at European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights

The Women's Working Group is a reflection of
the desire of women lawyers from all around
the world to continue to create safe spaces for
themselves and for more women who wish to
work in the field of human rights. The WWG
was a fellow driven initiative. It is wonderful
that Bertha continues to support it.”

Ethel Avisado, Be Just Fellow Alumna at Center
for International Law and 2016-17 Coordinator
at Women's Working Group

International
solidarity is so very important, not just
to show the government we have support
abroad, but to counteract the campaigns
aimed at defaming us, and at separating
human rights defenders from the
communities we work with.”

Alejandra Ancheita, founder and Executive Director
at The Project of Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights